riverviewlogs | [open And we keep waiting to be seen, right?

Entry tags:

[open And we keep waiting to be seen, right?

who: Illya Kuryakin & you
what: just a general catch-all
when: End of April and beginning of May
where: around the city shopping, gym
warnings: will add if needed

1; around

Illya doesn’t get out much.

It’s not being in a strange place, in a strange world full of strange people with futuristic technology. Or… rather, even though he has to admit that’s kind of getting under the skin, it’s not just that. He’s just used to keeping to himself, to doing things on his own and only relying on his boss to give him his orders and trust Illya will know what to do.

In here it’s different. In here he doesn’t have to hide, doesn’t have to keep in the shadows and become a shadow himself. In here he can get out and try to be a normal person. Or at least do his best to look like one, since the most people know about him is a fake name and his claims that he was a rowboat champion before he ended up in this place.

So there’s probably something… calming, in just doing normal things. Grocery shopping, checking out nearby libraries, just stopping at a park and watching the animals go by. It may seem boring to most people, but to Illya is kind of refreshing to be able to do all of this without a weight on his shoulders. He figures it will get boring eventually, but for now he enjoys his newfound freedom.

Enjoying it so much he doesn’t even notice the orange firefly circling him.

2; gym

It does get boring eventually, even with all the shenanigans going around.

Illya is used to physical exertion, to being active and working out as much as he can, as much as he’s healthy. Back home he needed his body to be in peak condition, to be able to fulfill every mission as fast as efficiently as possible. Most of them ended up with him running away or towards something, after all. But in here his job, while more interesting than what he had assumed when it had been assigned to him, doesn’t require much more than a inquisitive mind and knowing where to look, what questions to ask.

He really misses the exertion. So after asking around and getting some advice he’s finally decided to join a nearby gym.

He can be seen running himself ragged on the treadmill, doing weights or basically using every single machine he can find his hands on. Yay technology. Obviously not all on the same day, he’s stubborn but not suicidal… but someone should probably tell him to slow down.

3: OPEN option! Go wild. Poke me on DM or over at

crotalus if you want a specific thread!

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[Illya nods, and for a few moments that is all the conversation he gives Bucky as he focuses on his own run. He seems to have been running for a while, and the treadmill’s program is making him slow down before he fully stops. Annoying, but he can see the logic behind it.]

That has an interesting glint. [He finally asks, motioning at Bucky’s metal arm with his chin. This is the closest Illya gets to being polite about asking, really.]

[He steps onto the treadmill and programs in a workout. He's already had a short run this morning, but he still sets it at a brutal pace. Bucky starts off at a light jog as the machine works him up, though.]

Huh? Oh. Yeah. I lost it in the war. [He's kind of used to having people ask about his prosthetic arm.]

[And yet, to Illya the fact that he lost it in the war is more interesting than the fact that he has a metal arm at all.]

Were you a soldier?

Yeah, Army. No particular unit, I got moved around a lot during my stint. [It's putting things very simply, but it's weird oversharing to come right out with 'I was a government wetwork operative in short shorts who worked with a guy with wings on his head'. He glances over as the treadmill puts him through his paces, noticing the guy's large build.] What about you?

[Illya tries not to make his own interest obvious. He hasn’t met many people who come from a military background in this place, and even though he can’t (won’t) openly talk about it it’s still kind of reassuring to him.

He takes a second to find the right answer. He doesn’t want to lie, mostly because he’s going to be here for a long time and a lie always gets uncovered eventually. So he settles for a half-truth.]

I have done my time.

[Which… doesn’t answer much.]

Are you American?

[Bucky doesn't seem to mind the vague half-answers. It shows that he's perhaps used to talking to people who aren't very open about... well, anything. His own answers are carefully crafted, but he speaks the lines with casual ease.

He makes a noncommittal noise and takes a drink from his water bottle.]

Yeah. You're Russian? [The accent is a bit of a giveaway.] There are a fair few Russian speakers in Riverview.

[Illya nods. He considered hiding his accent for a second when he got here, then he decided it wasn’t worth it. No one knows how long he’s going to stay here.]

There are. American is still the default, but I have met people from my country, though no one from my time.

['But no one from my time', that piques his interest, and he looks up curiously, jabbing the button on the treadmill to slow down a little, the better to converse.]

What time would that be?

[He had seen the question coming. He had hesitated a bit, the first times it had been asked because he was aware it would single him out. Just like his accent would, a little bit. But he had decided there was just too much he didn’t know for him to try to hide it. So when he answers Bucky he does it without fear, since there’s other people who know now.]

1963. And if I’m right about your next question: yes, there is a ‘cold war’ in my world.

[1963. Not exactly his contemporary, but close. Bucky lets out a little hum of acknowledgement.]

I spent some time in the 50s in Moscow. [Unwillingly, and he doesn't remember a lot of the day to day, but still.] You've got a few almost-contemporaries here, but I think we're all American.

[Illya raises his eyebrows in surprise.]

So you’re from an earlier time than I am? Or close, at least.

I was born in 1925. [He'll leave it at that. It's a complicated story unless the guy asks for it, but even then, it can seem farfetched.]

I was born in 1931.

[Illya allows himself a bit of a grin.] You're the person that comes from a time closest than mine I have met in here.

Then we got another one for the old timers' club. My best friend is here, he's just a few years older than me. [Not to mention the other Steve and Bucky, but he doesn't exactly want to get into the doubles thing right now.] How many weird looks have you gotten from the modern kids so far?

...Enough.

[Illya actually scoffs, looking at the front. Look, he… actually doesn’t mind being in the future temporarily. He’s enjoying all the technology around: he’s always needed to stay up to date with the latest technology developments because of his job, and it eventually became kind of a hobby.

But he definitely not enjoying the way people look at him when they realize he’s from the past.]

What’s your friend’s name? Maybe I know him.

[Bucky snorts out a sympathetic little laugh. He knows those looks all too well, and he's had some time to adjust to the modern day even before Riverview.] Yuri keeps taking my phone and downloading weird apps. He put up a profile for me on 'Friendr'. Do people really need apps to make friends these days?

Steve Rogers. There are two, long story, mine's the older one.

[Illya blinks. He hadn’t really thought he’d know the guy, he hasn’t met that many people yet outside of his roommates. But he figures his stunt in the festival did help him get to know some people, because he knows that name.]

Captain America? [He asks with a raised eyebrow.] Tony Stark told me a little bit about him.

[It's a small world after all. Illya mentions Tony and Bucky snorts out a quiet laugh.]

He's just Steve, at the moment. Which Tony, though, drunk or sober? The sober one's from my timeline, too.

[That makes him frown.] Is there two people with the same name?

But drunk, I guess. Very drunk. He still... [He hesitates for a second, but decides to get over it. Whoever this Tony person is, he's obviously a big deal in some way or another. Illya never stood a chance.] He won me at chess.

Kept calling me Russian Steve.

There are a few of us with the same name, from different timelines. Two Steves, two Tonys. [He doesn't mention outright that there are two versions of him as well - he thinks the other Bucky is still lying low around Riverview, maybe still giving out a fake name. He won't blow that for him.]

Yeah, that... sounds like the other Tony. I'm sure he's still brilliant, but he can be frustrating.

Frustrating.

[He repeats that with a hint of amusement because… yeah. That’s a way to put it.] He did seem brilliant, but also annoying. And he seemed to think he was very important.

But how can the same person be here twice? Is it… one of those things where there’s more than one world?

They're not the same person, more like... This isn't my area, so I'm not sure how to explain it. There are I guess an infinite number of universes, and some are just... Things happened differently at different points in time. Changed up the timeline.

Normally people don't meet themselves from other timelines, but I guess my universe is special.

[Illya nods, but he’s visibly relieved. He doesn’t think he would enjoy meeting himself at all, if only because figuring out the differences between them would be nearly impossible if both of them are as closed off and secretive.]

I have only known one Tony, but if there are two of them and you have to put up with them both you have my condolences.

They're both pretty different. The sober one is a lot easier to handle. He's a good man. I don't know about the other one, he says a lot of weird shit. [Like "President Cap".]

[He shrugs.] He didn't seem like he couldn't be a bad man. Just... a bit of a weird one. He did suggest we could play another match where he would be willing to... make it easier, for me. I honestly just took it as an insult.

He's so... [He hesitates. Eventually:] American.

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anotheroldsoldier - 2017-06-23 09:46 (UTC) - Expand

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